The advance of technology in telecommunications has allowed a large segment of the population to own and to use wireless units operating on communications systems. Wireless units such as cellular telephones and personal communication system (PCS) devices have been particularly popular. The delivery of service to these wireless units by service providers is a competitive yet profitable endeavor. Service providers continue to seek ways to satisfy customers, and to improve and manage wireless service.
One manner in which service providers have sought to better obtain and serve customers is to provide for retail outlets where a customer may purchase a wireless unit and/or have a wireless unit activated for use. A specific retail outlet may sell wireless units from many different manufacturers, but typically, a retail outlet has an exclusive relationship with a particular service provider. As part of this exclusive relationship, the retail outlet activates wireless units purchased at the retail outlet only on the network or system of the particular service provider. In other words, generally, when a customer purchases a wireless unit at a specific retail outlet, the wireless unit is activated so that wireless communications service to that wireless unit is provided by the service provider that has an exclusive relationship with the specific retail outlet.
Similarly, the retail outlet may serve a customer by activating on the network or system of the particular service provider a wireless unit that has been purchased or obtained elsewhere. For example, a customer may be unhappy with his/her service from a specific service provider. At the end of a contract period or at other times, the customer may seek out a retail outlet so as to change service providers by being activated on the network or system of a different service provider.
In return for activation, the service provider typically pays the retail outlet a commission for each sale and activation or activation of a wireless unit. This commission often is not insignificant with respect to the purchase price of a wireless unit.
Another manner in which service providers seek to obtain customers is to offer a subsidy with respect to the purchase price of a wireless unit when the wireless unit is activated on the network or system of the service provider. For example, a wireless unit's retail cost without subsidy may be $300. A service provider may subsidize the cost of the wireless unit by $100 or more so long as the wireless unit is activated on the network of the service provider. Of course, the service provider anticipates that it will recoup its subsidy as a result of the business relationship with the customer. This subsidization has been welcomed by many customers as a way in which to obtain a wireless unit that may otherwise be too expensive to purchase.
These two manners to better obtain and serve customers are often combined: (1) a retail outlet may sell (or give away) wireless units whose costs are underwritten by subsidies paid by a particular service provider for activation of the units on the network of the particular service provider; and (2) the retail outlet may be paid a commission for each such subsidized wireless unit that is sold and activated on the network of the particular service provider.
Yet, there are disadvantages associated with the use of a retail outlet with respect to the sale and/or activation of a wireless unit. From the customer's perspective, the purchase and/or activation process at the retail outlet takes a relatively long period of time. Another disadvantage is that the purchase and/or activation process must be accomplished during the business hours of the retail outlet. Typically, business hours coincide with a customer's workday schedule or carry over into the early evening hours when the customer may be interested in following other pursuits. Thus, from a customer's perspective, the purchase and/or activation of a wireless unit in a retail outlet has at least the disadvantages of consuming time and energy during hours when a customer is most likely to be engaged in other pursuits.
The purchase and/or activation of a wireless unit in a retail outlet has disadvantages from the retail outlet's perspective as well. The retail outlet may sell other products or have other business than the wireless units. The purchase and/or activation process with respect to a wireless unit takes time and takes sales clerks away from the other business of the retail outlet. Further, the retail outlet may be required to obtain special equipment, programs, databases, and/or tables to sell and/or to activate the wireless units. The retail outlet must train personnel to use and to keep such special equipment and information confidential. The special equipment and information and the training and confidentiality thereof may overburden the retail outlet.
The purchase and/or activation of a wireless unit in a retail outlet also has disadvantages from the perspective of a service provider. A service provider typically must pay a not insignificant commission to the retail outlet for each wireless unit that is purchased and/or activated to the network of the service provider. Another disadvantage is the service provider generally must take some monitoring steps with respect to the retail outlet to assure the purchase and/or activation processes do not lead to abuses such as theft of confidential information relating to the wireless units and/or to customers.
There are alternatives to the purchase and/or activation of a wireless unit in a retail outlet. One such alternative is to allow a customer rather than the retail outlet to activate a wireless unit that he or she has purchased at a retail outlet, through a catalog, or wherever. This alternative is welcomed by the many customers who do not want to spend the time for the lengthy purchase and/or activation processes to be carried out in a retail outlet. But this alternative has a principal disadvantage. The wireless units sold without accompanying activation are sold generally without a subsidy. In other words, a customer who desires to avoid the lengthy purchase and/or activation processes at the retail outlet typically has to forego the savings offered by the considerable subsidy of wireless units sold in retail outlets.
Some service providers have subsidized the sale of wireless units pursuant to a locked system of wireless units. To activate such a wireless unit, it must be unlocked. The process or instructions for unlocking the wireless unit may be obtained from the service provider that subsidizes the purchase of the wireless unit, may be obtained from the seller of the wireless unit as part of the sale, and/or may be provided by the wireless unit in response to entry of a secret code that may be provided by the service provider or the retail outlet or otherwise obtained. As part of the unlocking process, the wireless unit is activated to the network of the particular service provider providing the unlocking instructions (or as agreed with the associated seller of the wireless unit). Pursuant to this locked system, the service provider offers a subsidized wireless unit for sale to a customer, and also allows the customer to activate the wireless unit at his or her convenience. The service provider gains from this locked system in that the service provider is generally able to recoup the subsidy by having the wireless unit activated to the network of the service provider, thereby providing wireless service to the wireless unit.
A problem with locked wireless units is that some customers may find it difficult to overcome the lock and/or to manage the unlocking/programming of the wireless unit. One solution to this problem has been described in the patent to Vaihoja et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,858. Vaihoja et al. describes an operator assisted programming feature for the activation of a wireless unit. Vaihoja et al. describes a problem that a customer may have in programming a wireless unit such as entry of incorrect information through the keypad that may result in inoperability of the unit. To solve this problem, Vaihoja et al. offers a solution that includes a checking code calculation feature which enables the customer to carry out the operator assisted programming and to check whether he or she has entered the information correctly. Unfortunately, this checking code calculation feature adds further programming and otherwise generally complicates the operation of the wireless unit.
In addition, service providers are finding they may be unable to always count on recouping the subsidy paid with respect to a locked wireless unit. The lock on the wireless unit may be circumvented by those who desire the subsidy from the service provider, but do not desire to be activated on the network of the service provider. Such circumvention may be the result of a too-wide distribution of the unlocking process of a particular type of locked wireless unit. For example, all of the same types of wireless units may be unlocked according to the same unlocking process. Once a person gains knowledge of the unlocking process, (legitimately or illegitimately), he or she may pass on knowledge of the unlocking process to others or use the process to unlock other locked wireless units of the same type.
Another way to circumvent the lock of a locked wireless unit is to use a “back door” into the programming of the locked wireless unit so as to unlock the wireless unit without having to first obtain the unlocking process. A back door is an access to the programming of the wireless unit designed to allow for easy repair or service of the wireless unit. Thus, a locked wireless unit may be “locked” for all intents and purposes, but may be unlocked without resorting to the unlocking process provided by the service provider that subsidized the purchase of the wireless unit. As a result, the wireless unit may not be activated to the network of the service provider paying the subsidy, and the service provider does not recoup such subsidy or otherwise gain from providing wireless service to the wireless unit.
Yet another way to circumvent the lock of a locked wireless unit is to break the lock or break the code that leads to unlocking the wireless unit. The lock or code may be broken in several different ways. The same lock or code may have been used for all of the same types and/or brands of wireless units. To break the lock or code, a person may work through one or more wireless units to find the lock or code. Even though the same lock or code may not have been used for all of the same types and/or brands of wireless units, the same pattern of unlocking a wireless unit using a code may have been used across the same types and/or brands of wireless units. To break the lock or code, a person may work through one or more wireless units to find the pattern, and thus, break the lock or code.
As a result of problems with the purchase and/or activation of a wireless unit in a retail outlet, and the problems associated with the locked system of wireless units that allow for user or user-assisted programming, over-the-air (OTA) programming of wireless units has been promoted. OTA programming includes over-the-air activation of a wireless unit. OTA is the subject of TIA/EIA Interim Standards, IS-136 Revision A (Telecommunications Industry Association, Standards and Technology Department, 2001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006), June 1996 and Addendum, and TDMA Forum Implementation Guide Interim Over-the-Air Activation Version Reference Number 1.1, Dec. 24, 1996, which are incorporated herein by reference.
OTA programming and OTA enables a service provider to program and activate a wireless unit over-the-air, i.e., using communication techniques such as radio frequency (RF) signaling that do not require physical contact or connection between devices of the service provider and the wireless unit. OTA programming is very convenient for customers because they do not have to bring wireless units to retail outlets or service providers for activation and/or programming. Generally, OTA programming requires less participation from a customer than customer (or operator assisted) programming of a wireless unit. Less participation by a customer in programming a wireless unit typically means less opportunity for mistakes in such programming. OTA programming is very convenient for service providers because they do not have to rely on retail outlets for obtaining and/or servicing customers. By decreasing the number of wireless units sold or serviced through retail outlets, a service provider can save money by paying fewer commissions to retail outlets. Also, a service provider's monitoring of retail outlets with respect to abuses such as theft of confidential information, failure to report sales, etc. is reduced with a reduction in the number of retail outlets.
OTA programming of a wireless unit is not without its problems. A wireless unit that accepts OTA programming is subject to being re-programmed by entities other than the service provider with whom the customer may have initially established a relationship. These other entities may be unauthorized and/or unknown entities. For example, a wireless unit may inadvertently accept OTA programming that causes the wireless unit to be activated on a network or system of a service provider different from the service provider which subsidized the cost of the wireless unit. On the other hand, a customer may purchase a subsidized wireless unit from a first service provider, and then allow his or her wireless unit to be programmed such that it receives service from a different service provider. In that case, the original service provider may fail to recoup its investment in the subsidy of the wireless unit.
Service providers generally desire to continue to subsidize the cost of wireless units so as to obtain and/or service customers. But in order to avoid losing the investment in the subsidization of wireless units, some service providers have sought ways in which to prevent OTA programming of a wireless unit except by the particular service provider subsidizing the unit. Some ways to limit OTA programming of a wireless unit to a particular service provider are described in the commonly owned United States patent application of Austin et al., entitled “Network Authentication Method for Over the Air Activation”, Ser. No. 08/950,389, filed on Oct. 14, 1997, and incorporated herein by reference.
Another way that has been practiced to limit OTA programming of a wireless unit to a particular service provider is to hardcode a home system operator code into a wireless unit. When the wireless unit powers-on, it searches for a channel that is broadcasting the home system operator code and locks to the channel that broadcasts it. This system operator code search process is advantageous for the customer and the home service provider at least during the initial activation and use of the wireless unit. The customer is provided with an easy activation process, and the home service provider may recoup its subsidy by providing service to the wireless unit. But should the customer become dissatisfied with the service, it is virtually impossible to modify the system operator code in the NAM. The customer cannot readily change service providers without having to acquire a completely different wireless unit. However, a wireless unit that is hardcoded to work only with a particular home service provider may, under limited conditions, be activated with other non-home service providers. Thus, if a retailer ships the product to an area that is not served by the home service provider which provides the subsidy, the customer may be activated for service with the wireless unit by a service provider that is different from the home service provider. If the retailer activates the product on the non-home service provider's system, the home service provider is deprived of the benefit of the subsidy that the home service provider provided for the equipment, and the customer may not be accorded the features, performance, and functionality that ordinarily are available through the home service provider.
Efforts to limit OTA programming of a wireless unit to a particular service provider have also included methods and systems that are used in connection with the system of locked wireless units described above. In other words, a wireless unit may be locked so as to fail to accept OTA programming until the unit is unlocked. For example, a wireless unit may be manufactured so as to include an authentication key. The manufacturer must keep track of the authentication key which is programmed into the wireless unit such as through the use of an authentication key table. The manufacturer provides the particular service provider with the authentication key table. When the customer desires to activate or otherwise program the wireless unit, the customer uses his or her wireless unit to communicate with the service provider. This communication includes a comparison of authentication keys. If they match, then the unit allows itself to be programmed by information from that service provider. If they do not match, the unit does not allow itself to be programmed.
Other processes of authentication between a locked wireless unit and a service provider attempting to program the unit OTA have been developed. For example, a wireless unit may detect a programming or activation attempt by information transmitted to the unit OTA. In response, the wireless unit may challenge the authority of the network or system that is sending information. This challenge may include sending a random number to the network. The network uses this random number, as well as information that is secretly shared between the network and the wireless unit, to generate a response to the challenge request. If the network-generated challenge response matches what the wireless unit believes to be the correct challenge response, then the programming is allowed to continue. The shared secret information between the wireless unit and the network is known generally as “Shared Secret Data—Subsidy” or “SSD_S.” In order for the wireless unit to be able to send the challenge with the random number to the network, the wireless unit must have the capability of sending content bearing messages to the network.
As with the wireless units that are locked against unauthorized manual programming, the lock against OTA programming of a wireless unit also may be circumvented in various manners. One manner in which to circumvent the lock against OTA programming is to obtain information on the authentication key, the shared secret data-subsidy (SD_S), or locking procedures from the manufacturer of the units and/or from the service provider. As noted, a manufacturer must keep an authentication key table to keep track of the authentication key which has been programmed into the wireless unit. This table is provided to the service provider. The shared secret data-subsidy (SD_S) and its correlation to a specific wireless unit(s) also must be stored in some fashion. For example, the manufacture and/or the service provider may have to maintain a list of “ESN to SSD_S” values. Security measures with respect to the confidentiality of the authentication key table or to the SSD_S may occasionally slip or be thwarted. Access to this type of confidential information can put an unauthorized user a long way down the road to circumventing the lock against OTA programming. In addition, the creation, safe storage, and safe transmission of such confidential information places an extra burden on the manufacturer and/or the service provider.
In sum, there is a need for a wireless unit whose purchase may be subsidized by a particular service provider, and which may be programmed or activated over-the-air by the particular service provider on its network so the service provider may recoup its subsidy and otherwise derive benefits from the delivery of wireless services to the wireless unit. In addition, there is a need for a wireless unit, which may be locked against over-the-air programming, and which does not allow for circumvention of the lock. In particular, there is a need for a locked wireless unit, which may be unlocked so as to be programmed over-the-air without the need for either the manufacturer or the service provider to set up, maintain, and/or transmit an authentication key table, an ESN to SSD_S list, or the like with respect to information included in the wireless unit, to information that correlates an identifier such as an ESN of a particular unit to values such as SSD_S or the like, and/or to the process of locking/unlocking the unit.